Iran World Cup squad heads to Mexico as US visa row erupts

ISTANBUL – Iran lashed out at the United States on June 6 for refusing visas to some of its World Cup squad support staff as the players were to leave Turkey for Mexico.

The row erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Iranian players, who have been at a training camp in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya since May 18, received their visas late on June 5, Washington’s envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack said on X, hailing the work of the US Embassy in Ankara in “processing visas for Iran’s national football team”.

But Iran’s Embassy to Turkey hit back on June 6 with a furious response, saying a “large” number of key staff had been denied visas.

“Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian embassy in Turkey said in a post on X.

“You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level,” the embassy added.

“FIFA must hold the US accountable for violations of its rules and for the discriminatory treatment of Iran’s national football team.”

Iran’s Football Federation, whose chief Mehdi Taj was reportedly among those denied a visa, also hit out, describing the decision as “political interference in sport in its worst form”.

“By extending its hostile behaviour towards the Iranian nation into the field of sport, the... US government has deprived Iran’s national team of... the opportunity to compete without discrimination,” it said, pledging to pursue the matter with FIFA.

Iranian state TV’s correspondent in Antalya said the players and their technical staff had received visas, but 15 others on the administrative and management side had not.

It said the matter would be followed up in Mexico.

Tensions over the war have complicated the US visa issue for Iran’s Team Melli who shifted their World Cup base from Tucson in Arizona to the north-western Mexican border city of Tijuana.

The war began after the US and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb 28. An April 8 ceasefire, which halted the fighting, is now rapidly unravelling with a recent flurry of strikes by the US and Iran.

In April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with the Iranian players but “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them”, suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, a group on the US terror blacklist.

Taj himself is a former Guards member, Iranian media in the diaspora have said.

Team Melli were scheduled to leave Antalya for Mexico on a 3.20pm flight that Taj said earlier this week would include a stopover in Spain before arriving in Mexico early on June 7.

But Iran’s state TV gave a later departure time of 5.30pm.

The team will be based in the north-western border city of Tijuana for the duration of the tournament, but all three of their group stage matches are due to be held in the United States.

They were originally due to be based in the US but switched their camp to Mexico due to the tensions over the war.

Iran, who are in Group G, will play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Ahead of their departure on June 6, Iran played a final friendly against Mali in Antalya on June 4 which they won 2-0. They played a first match on May 29, beating Gambia 3-1. AFP